Weird Al Throws Up on Christian Slater, Sits Next to Steve Buscemi in “Lame Claim to Fame”

Only a million degrees of separation between Yankovic and Kim Kardashian.

Still from YouTube

Perhaps the most surprising story of the past week has been the comeback of “Weird Al” Yankovic, the novelty-song genius who has delighted fans with a canny Internet stunt: a new music video, every day, from new album Mandatory Fun. His latest from that record, “Lame Claim to Fame,” is a particularly amusing Southern-rock riff on celebrity name-dropping and the “six degrees of separation” craze.

The video is a charming stop-motion medley, and features Yankovic boasting about some peripheral connections to fame: how he bought a second-hand toaster from an acquaintance of Brad Pitt, how he shares a birthday with Kim Kardashian, how he stayed in the same hotel as Zooey Deschanel. It’s good fun, and the week of Yankovic continues.

Sharan Shetty is on the editorial staff of the New Yorker. You can follow him on Twitter.